Police uncover international networks of men using online chat groups to drug and rape women
An international police operation spanning seven countries has uncovered highly organized networks of criminals who drug and rape their partners and aid and encourage their “horrifying” attacks using online chat groups, authorities said on Thursday.
Europol and Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA) said that in most cases the victims were women who were given sedatives before being raped and sexually assaulted. They said online groups provide a haven for predominantly male perpetrators to coordinate attacks, share information and post videos and photos of the abuse.
Britian’s NCA said on Thursday that German and British crime agencies had launched a joint operation to combat the “evolving threat” with the help of law enforcement agencies in the US, Brazil, Canada, France, Hungary, the Netherlands and Spain.
Often victims have no idea they have been sexually assaulted until they contact police, and the abuse is carried out “by someone they know and trust, and in some cases by more than one associated offender,” the agency said.
Investigations come next high profile case Gisele Pelicot’s husband in France invited dozens of strangers She was raped while unconscious in an incident that shocked the world and led to a cultural reckoning on gender-based violence and misogyny in the country.
Also below Undercover investigation from CNN to online networks of men who teach others how to drug and rape their partners.
European investigators say they have identified more than 150 criminals and victims and uncovered more than 270 new leads since the launch of a cross-border police collaboration called Project Medusa in April.
It was stated that fifty-seven people were arrested.
But the true extent of these crimes and the number of victims are unknown and “almost certainly under-reported”, according to Britain’s NCA.
“Drug-facilitated sexual assault is no longer isolated behaviour, but increasingly organised, carried out through coordinated networks and enabled by digital platforms, requiring a more complex operational response,” said Nigel Leary, deputy director of the NCA.
‘The scariest thing I’ve ever seen’
Europol, which coordinated the operation, said perpetrators sought to “objectify and dehumanise” their victims, and in some cases the abuse continued for decades.
“They use encrypted messaging services, forums, and closed chat groups to exchange experiences, normalize abusive behavior, facilitate the illicit trade of prescription drugs and narcotics, and coordinate criminal activities,” he added.
In these online groups, offenders share information about which drugs to use, how to administer them, how to avoid detection, and request and share videos and photos of abuse.
Siobhan Blake, head of rape and serious sexual offenses for the UK Crown Prosecution Service, said the abuse was “one of the most appalling incidents I have seen in my career”.
“Victims are subjected to horrific sexual assaults in their own homes, in a gross breach of trust,” he said.
Police warned victims could be of any age, social background or ability and encouraged anyone who suspects they have been a victim of drug-facilitated sexual assault to come forward.
has been across Europe numerous arrests and convictions Men accused or convicted in recent years of drugging and raping their unconscious partners.
Awarded to Dominique Pelicot 20 years imprisonment For organizing the drugging and rape of his then-wife Gisèle in 2024. Fifty more people were convicted.
Last year, German national Fernando P. found guilty He was sentenced to 8 years and 6 months in prison for allegedly drugging and raping his unconscious wife for years and sharing the video of his crimes on the internet.
Also Zhenhao Zou in 2025 He was found guilty of raping 10 women He was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 24 years in Britain and China. Police and prosecutors said Zou contacted students of Chinese descent through WeChat and dating apps and lured them to their apartments to drug and attack them.
Polish authorities in April arrested a man in connection with an alleged rape. Polish media outlets identified the arrested man as “Piotr,” the nickname given to the Polish man at the center of the CNN investigation who was one of nearly 1,000 users in a private Telegram group dedicated to sharing advice on drugging and raping partners.
But experts I told CNN Offenders of drug-facilitated sexual assault continue to refine how they carry out the abuse, making the path for such cases to trial difficult. Reliable data on how common such crimes are and how common there are survivors is also limited. called on regulators Taking more proactive action to shut down online platforms and websites that host abusive material.
The police operation was “the first of its kind,” according to Europol, and those involved hope that by combining the forces of law enforcement agencies in multiple countries, they can uncover the kind of abuse that “developed in secrecy online and behind closed doors,” Blake said.
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